More than one in four children in Gateshead are living in poverty, a shocking new report has revealed.

The second annual report from the area’s director of public health has laid bare the health inequalities faced by many Gateshead residents.

Among the startling statistics are that Gateshead had the second highest rate of alcohol related hospital admissions in England in 2016/17, while more than 9,500 people don’t work due to long-term sickness.

‘Inequalities: it never rains but it pours’, is the second annual report by director Alice Wiseman.

A man drinking alcohol (Image: PA)

In it she reveals that two babies, born on the same day in Gateshead, could have as much as a 10 year difference in life expectancy due entirely to the circumstances into which they are born.

Ms Wiseman said: “This is just one of the many shocking statistics that are included in the compilation of this report.

“And it doesn’t stop there. It is not fair that life chances are marked before these babies have even taken their first breath.

“The burden of ill-health falls hardest and fastest on those from low income backgrounds.”

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The report says: “A Gateshead man can expect to have 57 years of life in good health compared to the England average of 63.4 years.

“A Gateshead woman can expect to have an average of 59.1 years of life in good health compared to the England average of 64.1 years.

“Where you are born in Gateshead also makes a difference -a man living in the Bridges area on average lives 9.3 years less than a man in Whickham South and Sunniside, while a woman living in Felling lives on average 7.7 years less than a woman in Whickam South and Sunniside.”

Key facts from the report include:

Half of all mental illness starts by the age of 14

In Gateshead, around 9,000 people aged over 75 live alone, experiencing social isolation

In the most deprived areas of Gateshead the proportion of obese adults is almost double that in the least deprived areas.

Around six in ten deaths from cardiovascular disease in Gateshead could be prevented

In Gateshead there are nearly 65,000 people living with long term health conditions – that’s around 26% of the population.

Ms Wiseman said: “Once born into a cycle of disadvantage, a person is more likely to experience, and accumulate, a range of poor outcomes over the course of their life, with those experiencing multiple difficulties often suffering unthinkable adversity, stigma and isolation.”

Gateshead High Street (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

The report, which is available to read online at www.gateshead.gov.uk/health , explores how inequalities are experienced through the eyes of people in Gateshead.

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It calls for the focus to be shifted from managing the burden of ill health to promoting actions that create the right conditions for good health.

Council Leader Martin Gannon explained: “The Director of Public Health’s Annual Report is a timely reminder of the unfairness and inequalities that are all around us and which we are determined to face head on.

“If anyone needs a reason why we need to take a radical and far reaching approach to this issue, they should read this report. It sets out the facts and real life issues faced by local people which are simply not acceptable in the 21st century.”